


Blinded

by WhumpTown



Category: Prodigal Son (TV 2019)
Genre: Malcolm Bright Needs a Hug, Malcolm Bright Whump, Whumptober
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-10-20
Updated: 2019-10-20
Packaged: 2020-12-24 16:09:01
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,521
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21102239
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/WhumpTown/pseuds/WhumpTown
Summary: In an explosion, Malcolm is blinded but only temporarily





	Blinded

**Author's Note:**

> If you've ever seen The Mentalist, you may recognize some scenes. I really love The Mentalist

Bright stops. His eyes glued to the next victim. Taunting red numbers counting down so fast that Bright has two options. He can stand right where he is and he’ll die, this victim’s last moments won’t be so alone. Bright will be right there and Dani will be forced to watch it happen. It’ll be a means to an end, a final solution to his complicated life. It’s mostly why he doesn’t move, not a thing in his mind or even in his body wants to move.

Then Dani tackles him. Hard. 

The van behind them explodes, Bright’s eyes still stuck right there. 

“Bright!” Dani stumbles back to her feet, glaring at her trembling partner. Her body aches, a sunburn feeling on the back of her arms and tingling down her legs. Bright looks mostly intact, a cut on his cheek and a bloody nose. He’s still a maniac. “What the _fuck_ was that!?”

The trembling seems to just get worse as his eyes flicker around, focusing on nothing and darting. “D-Dani? Dani, I can’t see. I can’t see.” He tries to move to his feet, shaky knees leaving him unsteady to throw his arms out searching for perch. “D-Dani, I-” Those bright blue eyes roll up into his head, shaky knees giving out from underneath him.

“Bright?”

“It’s not permanent, kid, and it’s not your fault.” 

Gil is playing Dani’s least favorite role. His eyes soft, the grey in his beard a reminder of his kindness and old age. That stupid thing he does when he puts his hands on her shoulder and there’s this stupid look on his face. He’s so good at filling that absent father role, makes her wish her own father was like him, it distracts her from her guilt. 

She nods. Nods and nods until he leaves her alone, just let her get stuck in her thoughts. That’s what she needs. He won’t stop pushing because he knows better. Stupid Gil. 

“G-Gil?” 

They step into the room and Dani falters. He’s sitting there, eyes wrapped in gauze, his face deathly pale, and a single trembling hand raised out in front of him. She stands in the doorway and watches Gil take those crucial steps. He crosses the space and takes Bright’s hand. 

Dani can’t help a smile itching at her own face, Bright’s childlike grin too contagious to fight off. His hand wraps tight around Gil’s that stupid grin just eating his face up and the guilt festering and twisting painfully in her gut lurch. She can’t see his eyes but the vulnerability, the uncertainty is still there.

“Dani.” Her name isn’t a question like Gil’s was. No. He says her name with an odd conviction, without a doubt. His head moves, making up for the way his eyes dart about. He’s searching. For her. “I know you’re here. You breathe very distinctly.” His head stops moving and she realizes she’s taken in a large breath and sighed. Somehow that stupid grin doubles. 

She rolls her eyes,” I’m here, Bright.”

She has a feeling that Bright is going to use his new disability to absolutely terrorize her. “Yeah, I know!” That stupid grin and that stupid tilt he does with his head. “You always sigh at me, why do you always sigh?” He hums to himself as if he’s using the sound to calculate his answer. “You get enough sleep, your skin is very clear and your eyes don’t even have bags!”

Dani sighs at that because he always says the nicest things in a way that no one can possibly take as a compliment. It’s how she knows he must have been mercilessly beaten on elementary school playgrounds and probably well into high school. That and the scars that mar the flesh around his eyes. Tiny cuts that have been kicked or hit open time after time. It’s the thin scar that runs just under his left eye, not even visible if you don’t know what you’re looking for.

“Gil, can you see if that have that green jello?” The way he tilts his head, his fingers dancing along the sheets in search of something. No one can quite tell what he’s looking for. He makes an annoyed huffing sound, his eyebrows pinching in on the gauze around his head. “I-I,” he makes the sound again, this time moving his hands roughly against his body.

Gil moves quickly, grabbing Bright’s wrist and effectively stopping his frantic search, “Breath, kid. I can manage to get you some jello.” Gil runs his hand up Bright’s arm, a comforting circle and she can see the effects it has. His breathing calms, the trembling calms but doesn’t stop. 

Bright jerkily nods his head,” b-but makes sure it’s green? The-the others they taste-”

“-like cough medicine, I know kid.” Gil cups the side of Bright’s face for a minute, shaking his own head. He glances at Dani and leaves, his own personal mission taking his mind off of Bright’s sightless eyes.

Bright can’t afford the same luxury. He looks small on the bed all by himself. His slender shoulders against those fluffy white pillows, a contrast to the crimson stains on the painfully white gauze. He’s sickly, something that lively spirit of his covers up so well. Distracts wandering eyes from the bags under his eyes and the trembling he can never control in his left hand. 

“You wanna watch some Jeopardy?” She can see the frown, the sadness seeping into his shoulders. His entire body sags into itself, right arm curling into his chest, and his legs inching closer to the rest of his body. At the sound of her voice, he livens up. A smile, a natural one that doesn’t even look forced, curls at the ends of his lips.

He does the head darting, a real smile on his lips. “You watch Jeopardy?” His head tilts, that smile jerking. He can hear her move and his moves until he’s looking in the general of the tv. She flicks through channels until she finds what she’s looking for. 

“Everyone watches Jeopardy, Bright.”

Bright takes that to be exactly what Dani wants it to be taken as. A challenge. “I bet I can beat you.” That stupid smile. That cocky tilt of his head.

“Fine but when I win you better not cry the blues and claim it’s because you’re blind.”

Bright scoffs,” alright.”

“Bright, what are you doing?” She can’t help but giggle at his probing hands. The pads of his fingers are rough, his touch gentle as he moves them over her face. They’re focused around her mouth and jaw, his smile making the whole thing so much more contagious. 

He comes to gently touch her lips and she finds the whole thing so soft. So gentle. He’s smaller than he makes himself appear. All that moving, the over-exaggerated hand gestures and booming proclamations, is just another ploy to distract from the fact that he’s below the average height for men his age. He’s only about an inch taller than her.

“I wanna know what your face feels like when you’re smiling.” There he goes again with that so matter-of-fact tone. It’s the cutest thing he’s ever said, also the nicest, in regards to her. He’s doing that stupid thing with his head too and she wishes she could stop the blood rushing to her face. 

Gil comes into the bullpen, Dani moves quickly to grab both of Bright’s hands in her own. Turns out it probably would have been better if Gil had just seen Bright grinning all stupid with his hands on her face. Coming in to find Dani holding Bright’s hand in her own… 

“Am I interrupting something here?” Gil puts his hands on his hips, one of those stupid ‘I-know-something-you-don’t-know’ smirks. There isn’t anything to know though so her cheeks flush hot and she drops Bright’s hands. “Actually, I have a much better question. Bright, what the hell are you doing out of the hospital?”

Bright turns his head close to where Gil is, a not so cocky smile on his lips. This one is mischievous. He’s done something he shouldn’t but he’s blind and sickly and, well, Bright. He’s stupid, a little narcissistic, but usually means well. “I signed out AMA.”

Gil scoffs, his arms coming across his chest and his lips frowning tight.

Dani rolls her eyes, nudging Bright’s shoulder with her closed fist. “That’s not all. He pestered, berated, and annoyed every single staff member from the hospital until they gave him the papers. I had to pick him up.”

Bright shrugs,” I’m blind. I’m not walking the streets of New York City alone.” Then he puts on an exaggerated frown,” plus it’s cold. I’d get pneumonia or something. Then I’d be sick _and_ blind.”

Gil rolls his eyes and Bright can’t see it but he grins anyway. Gil comes the rest of the way into the room, arms at his side but his head still shaking. “Well, we’ve still got murders to solve people. Let’s get to work.”

Bright is about half as helpful as he usually is. A lot of talking, not a lot of profiling. JT gets aggravated, he moves to the next room. His paperwork spread out all around him but he’s actually getting work done. Gil and Dani keep up their efforts, their attempts at keeping Bright focused are futile. It’s evident the pain from the injuries he sustained are catching up, Dani’s own head feels like it’s going to explode. She can only imagine how he feels. 

“Dani,” Gil lowers his voice motioning with his head that he wants Dani to follow him to the door. She follows, hesitantly. Glancing every few steps to Bright, sitting there in his chair all small and silent. “Think you wrangle him back into a car? The kid needs to go home.”

Dani nods. “If you call the hospital, I’ll pick up the pain meds he made me leave. He looks like-” 

A sudden thud comes from the room, both of them turning quickly and finding an empty chair where Bright had just been. Dani’s quicker than Gil, landing hard on her knees by Malcolm’s side. He’s bent over himself, fallen to his knees, his body bent over. His forehead rest against the carpet but those shakey bandaged hands are wrapped around his head. His hair gripped between fingers. 

“Bright! Bright?” Something tells her not to touch him, not to pull his arms away from his head or try and force him to move. For once it’s her own hands trembling, she’s close enough to touch him with her hands. Those thin trembling shoulders beg for her to reach out and just steady them. Gather his body in her arms and hold him like she had weeks ago.

“Call an ambulance. I’m gonna get his sister and mom.” Gil stands, his knees cracking under the pressure. Malcolm’s hand comes out, grabbing Gil’s ankle and halting his movement. The grip is alarming, surprising. 

Malcolm mumbles something, shifting his body. “N-No. M-Mother’s… Ainsley’s g-got a press conference. It-It’s important.” He moves until he’s sitting up and shakes his head,” don’t need an am-ambulance. I’m fine. I’m-I’m fine.” 

He sits up, blinking hard and wincing each time he opens his eyes. JT comes to the door, looking in at them on the floor. He makes a face but doesn’t say anything. Malcolm seems to be looking at him or rather in his general direction until a small, sly smile breaks on his face. “JT, you have no idea how good it is to see your face.”

Dani gasps and grips his shoulders, turning his shoulders until he’s facing her. He makes a little grunting noise at that, squinting at her. Then he smiles,” hey, Dani.” All she does is put a hand on his shoulder and he leans into the touch, leans until he’s in her arms. They become a tangle of limbs, much like their collision during his night terror all those weeks ago. 

“Hey, Bright.” 

“I can see you, Dani.” 

She smiles, reflecting his own silly smile. “Good, I got tired of walking your ass everywhere.”

He frowns another playful action. “Aw, come on Detective Powell! I loved our walks.”

She scoffs playfully punching his shoulder,” no you didn’t. I walked you into three poles.”

Malcolm shrugs it off and Gil offers him a hand up, helping him to his feet before they both offer her the same gesture. She opts to take Gil’s hand, suddenly overthinking every time she’s touched Malcolm since the accident. 

Malcolm seems unphased, his brain taking no time to really think about the fact that he has his sight back. “So, show me the crime scene photos, we’ve got a killer to catch.”

Dani does her best to focus on the case. She can’t, not all the way. Malcolm’s movements are distracting. He hasn’t slept since the accident and his body is trembling, his whole body. While Gil and JT both have solo work to do she’s left with him, so she can’t take her mind off of him. 

So she does what she can. She cuts the lights in every room she can if he’s there too. She offers her arm when he stumbles into two different chairs and tries not to think about what will happen if his vision starts to get bad again. At the end of the case, Malcolm giving them everything they needed except for a name, Dani stayed back and let Gil and JT make the arrest. She stayed at her desk, watching over Malcolm as he slowly falls asleep on the couch.

“Dani?” He blinks sleepily, blue eyes peeking out from behind thick eyelashes.

“Yeah?” 

“Thanks. For everything. You’re… You’re the only friend I have. So, I’m sorry-”

She doesn’t have the heart to let him go on. She moves to the couch, pulling his arm until, slightly confused, he sits up. He regards her behavior to be what it is, odd. He actually flinches when she hugs him, her touch loose and it’s clear that this is something he can easily escape from if he doesn’t want the contact. “You don’t have to apologize, Bright. This is what friends do for one another.”

He smiles softly, kind of glad she can’t see it. 

She clears her throat and pushing him back, out of the hug. She looks him up and down, focusing on the bags under his eyes. “Alright, up and at ‘em. I need to get you to your apartment. The last thing I need is one of your nightmares when you’re still half-blind and severely sleep-deprived.”

He scoffs at that but still leans into the shoulder that touches his when she hooks her elbow into his. As she leads him out he realizes how often she saves his skin. A regular knight in shining armor this one. He thinks she might kick his ass, half-blind or not if he tells her this. So he just smiles and thanks her when she turns the heat on extra high. 

Yeah, his knight in shining armor.

**Author's Note:**

> I really want to write more about Dani being his knight in shining armor because she is
> 
> Also, because I just really ship these two hard


End file.
